In addition to earning valuable points and miles, many premium travel rewards credit cards also come with a bevy of credits that can help you save on everything from hotels and airline fees to TSA PreCheck, Uber rides, and even takeout orders.
These credits are a prime way to recoup some of a card's sometimes scary annual fee. You can even come out ahead with many of these credits so long as you're aware of all your card's perks – and how to use them.
Many of these credits reset at the beginning of the calendar year, and while some are doled out all at once, others are monthly or even quarterly credits. These credits typically don't roll over into the next month, quarter, or year, which means you either use them or lose them.
It's a lot to keep track of, and the banks know it. In fact, they're betting on it. Don't let the banks win at their own game: Use this list to see which credits and perks you get with your travel rewards card and how to take advantage of them.
$200 Amex Platinum Hotel Credit
At the start of every year, *amex platinum* cardholders get an annual credit of up to $200 to use for prepaid hotel stays through the Amex Travel booking portal. This new credit only applies to Fine Hotels + Resorts® (FHR) or Hotel Collection properties. Notably, bookings of the Hotel Collection properties require a minimum stay of two consecutive nights.
After purchasing directly through the travel portal, you will receive the $200 back as a statement credit within 90 days. This is a great way to make a dent in the Amex Platinum card's $695 annual fee (see rates & fees). And it's immediately available at the beginning of the year and not on your card anniversary.
With how expensive hotels can be, this credit could be your ticket to a cheap luxury hotel stay this year. I used this credit during my trip to Disneyland this month to book a stay at the Westin Anaheim Resort, where I got daily breakfast for myself and my partner, a room upgrade, late checkout, and credits of up to $100 to spend at the property's spa or restaurants.
Read our guide to using the $200 Amex Platinum Hotel credit!
$200 Amex Airline Credits
With the *amex platinum*, you'll also get $200 in airline fee credits at the beginning of each calendar year.
These airline credits can go a long way, but it's not as simple as just buying flights or an upgrade to put it to use before the year ends: There are some major strings attached to these credits that can make them harder (but far from impossible) to use.
Technically, they're “airline incidental fee credits.” That means up to $200 in fees at one qualifying airline for things like checked baggage, guest access at a lounge and others will be reimbursed – but keep reading for some other ideas to put these to use. You have to pick one U.S. airline to use them at by logging into your American Express account and navigating to your Benefits, though you might be able to switch mid-year by calling or messaging Amex.
On paper, that means you can't put these credits toward booking a flight. In practice, there are a few great workarounds to get the most out of these Amex airline fee credits:
- Got eCredits with Delta after canceling flights this year? Use them to rebook travel for 2024, then put the remaining balance on your Amex Platinum or Gold Card. So long as you charge less than $250 to your card and have selected Delta as your preferred airline, it should trigger the credit
- Pick Southwest as your preferred airline for these credits and book a cheap flight – flights under $99 typically trigger it, in our experience.
- Select United Airlines instead, then load up your United TravelBank account using your Amex card – allowing you to use the airline credit to book tickets with United
- Pay for your pal to get into the Delta Sky Club with you
- Upgrade to the Spirit Big Front Seat for your next flight with the ultra-low-cost carrier
- Book an award ticket and charge the taxes and fees to your Platinum card!
Read our full guide on the best ways to use these airline credits to get the most out of them!
Like most of these Amex statement credits, this is a “use it or lose it” perk. If you don't use up every dollar, it won't roll over into 2025. Luckily, American Express makes it easy to track whether you've used up your airline credits – just log into your account and check your benefits tab.
Remember: this benefit is based on the calendar year, not when you opened your Amex Platinum. That means you've got the entire year to use this credit before it resets.
Hilton Honors Resort Credits
If you're a Hilton loyalist, you might have the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card or the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card. These two cards come with statement credits that could score you major savings while staying at Hilton properties.
Thanks to some recent changes, the Hilton Honors Aspire card now comes with an annual $400 resort credit to use at select Hilton properties around the world. It is to be broken up into two chunks – meaning you'll get $200 the first half of the year (Jan. – Jun.) and then another $200 in the second half of the year (Jul. – Dec.).
It works at hundreds of participating Hilton properties around the globe – and not just spots with the word “resort” in them. Simply charge things like dinner, activities, or a trip to the spa to your room. Just pay with your Aspire card at checkout, and voila – the credit kicks in. Even some room rates will qualify for this resort credit so long as you don't prepay.
The Hilton Honors Surpass cardholders get an annual $200 resort credit, doled out in quarterly installments of $50 apiece.
I recently used this credit for a stay at a Hampton by Hilton property and received my quarterly $50 statement credit back within a week of checking out.
If you travel frequently and often stay in Hilton hotels, this credit is an easy way to zero out the new $150 annual fee on the Surpass Card – and then some.
Read more: Big changes to the Hilton Aspire & Surpass Cards: Higher Fees, New Perks
Amex Uber Cash
If you have an Amex Platinum Card or *amex gold*, you are eligible to receive a monthly $15 or $10 Uber Cash credit after enrollment, respectively. This is a great way to help offset the annual fee of either card. With the Amex Gold Card in particular, receiving a total of $120 of Uber Cash a year practically cuts the $250 annual fee (see rates & fees) in half.
You could use your Uber Cash towards rides booked on the Uber app or to order food for delivery through Uber Eats. Just remember, Uber Cash does not roll over to the next month and any unused credits will expire on the last day of the month.
Thrifty Tip: For Uber Eats orders, opt for picking up instead of delivery to save on the additional fees and tipping.
Better yet, if you have both the Amex Platinum and Gold Card, you could use the total of $25 Uber Cash together for your transactions each month.
Read our guide to using the Amex Uber Cash credits!
$120 Amex Gold Dining Credit
Speaking of the Amex Gold Card, you also get a monthly $10 dining credit up to $120 a year. That combined with the Uber Cash credit makes your Amex Gold Card practically free to hold, so long as you use up those credits.
After enrollment, any purchases through Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar and select Shake Shacks will activate a $10 statement credit. Just remember, this dining credit does not roll over to the next month and your unused balance will expire by the end of the month.
My favorite way to use this credit is at Shake Shack in Seattle since it's nearby but I've used this with GrubHub for pick-up orders as well.
Read our guide to using the $120 Amex Gold dining credits!
$100 Amex Platinum Card Saks Credit
Just for holding the *amex platinum*, you get $100 in credits annually to use online or in-store at Saks Fifth Avenue. These credits are available in two installments: One $50 credit will be available from January through June and you'll get another one to use from July through December.
While Saks isn't known as the most thrifty place to do your shopping, there are plenty of fun travel items worthy of your $50 credit, whether you are looking to treat yourself or shop for someone else. Don't wait until the last minute to buy, though: The credit won't kick in until an item is actually shipped.
Once you hold the card, you will need to log into your American Express account and activate the credit. To do this, head to the benefits tab.
From here you will click to enroll in the benefit. Once enrolled, you can head to a Saks Fifth Avenue retail store or www.saksfifthavenue.com to spend your $50. If you do your spending before you enroll in the benefit, you will not receive the statement credit.
I used my $50 credit last year to get a new phone charger practically for free after using a discount code and accounting for shipping costs. As you can see, the credit appeared shortly after making my purchase.
Read our guide to using the $100 Amex Platinum Saks Credit!
$240 Amex Platinum Digital Entertainment Credit
If you hold the *amex platinum*, you can get up to $20 in statement credits each month when making direct, eligible purchases on Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, SiriusXM, and The Wall Street Journal.
If you're like me, you like to have a good mix of streaming platforms and online publications to watch and read. Getting up to $240 of value a year is a major discount for subscriptions that are sure to add up without this Amex Platinum Card benefit. It's another great way to cancel out that $695 annual fee.
You have to enroll to get the credit, but once you do, simply charge your subscription for these services to your Platinum Card and it will kick in to cover up to $20 a month. And you might as well use it all up, as unused credits do not roll over from month to month. This is a use-it-or-lose-it perk.
Read our guide to using the $240 Amex Platinum Entertainment Credit!
CLEAR Credits
CLEAR® Plus is a privately run trusted-traveler program that uses both fingerprint and iris identification technology that expedites travelers' experience going through airport security.
Once you have been cleared at the CLEAR kiosk, ambassadors escort you to the front of airport security lines to have your boarding pass checked by a TSA agent. CLEAR® Plus allows you to jump to the front of the general screening security line – or if you also have TSA PreCheck, the front of the PreCheck line. Currently, CLEAR Plus is available at over 50 airports across the U.S. and counting.
CLEAR Plus comes with a hefty price tag of $189 a year. Fortunately, the Amex Platinum Card, *amex green*, and the Hilton Honors Aspire card, have you covered by providing an annual CLEAR® Plus credit of up to $189, enough to cover the entire cost of enrollment. This credit will be available starting in January each year, no matter when you need to renew your CLEAR® Plus membership.
The Green Card charges an annual fee of $150 (see rates & fees), meaning this CLEAR credit essentially makes the Green Card free to hold. Just be sure to use your applicable Amex card to pay for the service directly.
Read our full guide to cards that cover the $189 CLEAR fee!
Credits That Don’t Reset by the Calendar Year
Not all travel rewards card perks and credits reset with the calendar year, though. Some you'll get on your cardholder anniversary – the date on which you opened the card – which can make them even more tough to keep track of.
$300 Venture X Travel Credit
Each year that you hold the *venture x*, you'll receive a $300 travel credit that is redeemable only through the Capital One Travel Portal. With this credit, you will get a $300 discount at checkout for any flight, hotel, or rental car booking made through the travel portal. Unlike the Amex Platinum hotel credit, the Venture X travel credit is available on your cardholder anniversary rather than at the beginning of the year.
This $300 travel credit alone easily cancels out most of the card's $395 annual fee, plus you get an incredible discount on travel purchases. I personally used this credit to book flights for my parents from Ho Chi Minh City to Tokyo to catch their return flight to Seattle on our upcoming trip to Vietnam. I was happy to be able to book intra-Asia travel without breaking the bank. It also helped that I had some Venture Miles I could redeem through the travel portal to stack with the $300 credit, making this booking completely free.
Read our guide to using the $300 Venture X Travel Credit
$300 Chase Sapphire Reserve Travel Credit
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® comes with an easy-to-use $300 travel credit that offsets its hefty price tag of $550.
You'll get a statement credit on any travel purchases you make with your card from flights and hotels to public transportation or rideshares like Uber or Lyft. It's that easy to use. It's one of the most lucrative benefits of any travel card, period. Like the Capital One Venture X travel credit, this credit is available on your cardholder anniversary rather than at the beginning of the year.
While this isn't exhaustive, here's a list of some charges that will trigger the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit.
Read our guide to using the $300 Sapphire Reserve Travel Credit
$50 Sapphire Preferred Hotel Credit
The *chase sapphire preferred* offers a $50 statement credit to cardholders each year that can be used towards booking a hotel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal.
To take advantage, all you need to do is use your Sapphire Preferred Card to book and pay for a hotel stay of at least $50 through the Chase travel portal and you'll receive an automatic statement credit for up to $50 each year. Note that this credit is available on your cardholder anniversary rather than at the beginning of the year.
Unlike other credit cards offering benefits like this, there is no minimum spend or length of stay requirement. No registration is required! This statement credit kicks in automatically.
Read our guide to using the $50 Sapphire Preferred Hotel Credit
Bottom Line
The calendar just turned to 2024 and if you have a travel rewards card in your wallet, you've likely got some new credits or perks that can help you save on your next trip or even just some everyday expenses in your life this year.
Trying to learn and make use of the many different ways to save using your travel card credits can be overwhelming, but this list is a good place to start.